Parks and Recollection - Rob Lowe: Town Hall Episode

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

Rob Lowe is back to help Jim O’Heir and Greg Levine host one big Town Hall and you’ll never believe where they’ve set the scene. This week we tackle some of our listeners’ most burning questions, like how the characters from “The Outsiders” would fit into the world of Pawnee, what a Chris Traeger ice cream flavor would taste like, and who would reign supreme in a Josh Lyman/Leslie Knope debate.  Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email at [e-mail]!

We're getting together to talk about all the things we used to do The laughs, the passions, the little Sebastian's, the pets we fell into And we're putting it on in a podcast, then we'll send it up into the sky We're calling it Parks and Recollection Come on little podcast, spread your wings and fly Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Parks and Recollection I am Jim O'Hare, the guy who played Gary, Larry, Jerry, Terry, even Barry from Johnny Karate. And I'm here with the dearest man in my life. God, I can only remember his name.

You know, week to week, I forget. You are? The one and only Greg! Greg! The one and only! It's me! Jim, let's cut to the GD chase, my friend. Yeah.

This is a big episode. Let's get to it! We are here today with a very special guest, as you. Yeah. This is a big episode. Let's get to it. We are here today with a very special guest, as you can tell, and a very special episode. Rob Lowe, Chris Traeger himself,

has joined us, and he's here for this great reason. We've been getting so many great questions from our listeners that we wanted to devote an entire episode

to answer them, and we thought, obviously, Rob has to come back and give us the Traeger detail. So, Rob, hello. It's so good to see you. Great to see you guys. Great job.

The pod is the best. And I'm happy anytime I'm Pawnee adjacent. Rob, what have you been up to since we have seen you last? What has been going on? Oh, my gosh. Okay, I am currently shooting 9- currently shooting 911 Lone Star Season 5. We're almost done. That'll come out on Fox in September.

I am about to start some press tour to drum up audience for the August 1st premiere of season two of Unstable, comedy that I have on Netflix. With your son. My son and I, it's very much inspired by Parks and Rec and The Office and 30 Rock. It's a laugh out loud,

must-see TV style comedy where my son John Owen and I play alternative universe versions of ourselves. We have the great Fred Armisen starring with us, the great Lamorne Morris from New Girl and Fargo and our cast from last year

returns and it's an amazing season. I'm so excited for it. If you like Parks and Rec, this show is for you. You've done so many things, so many great things in your career. Yeah. But that must be quite a moment in a storied career to be like, I'm acting with my son, and I'm creating something with my son, and we're making something that's greater than the sum of our parts.

Pretty cool. It's a dream. It's really, really a dream. I remember helping him with his creative writing, social studies, whatever the hell they call it today, when he was a little boy. And to go from that to, you know, running a writer's room and him on the phone taking notes from Netflix is like, as a dad, I mean, it's indescribable.

And so as a dad, you just have that pride and love and you can't believe it. But on the other side of it, the gift I didn't see coming is that, I don't know if it's, you know, they talk about nature versus nurture, but for whatever reason, he has my brain. So if there's a cut of an episode, if he looks at it and approves it, I don't need to look at it. If there's four music cues that need to get approved, he can do it. We see things exactly the same in terms of tone, taste, and everything. And to have a collaborator like that is just unbelievable. That's amazing. Do you guys ever butt heads, though?

Is there any topics that like, oh, sometimes we're just like not on the same page? No. No. That's great. I mean, obviously, sometimes we're just like not on the same page? No, no. That's great. I mean, obviously in life we can, you know. Yeah, of course. In life, sure. By the way, not that much.

But creatively, we have yet to buttheads at all. Listen, he's the reason I'm on Parks and Recreation. Talk about a beautiful segue. Oh. When the conversation started about me joining the show, my knowledge of the show was pictures of Amy Poehler standing in a dirt hole. And then, but I asked my kids about it, and they were like, it's a really cool show.

People like it. That was, I was like, ah. So I knew somehow, somewhere, it was more than Amy in a hard hat in a hole for my kids. Yeah. Well, we've gone a long way from Amy in a hard hat because let us catch you up on where we are. We are finishing up season five of Parks and Recreation.

At this point in the series, Chris has agreed to have a baby with Ann Perkins. Ann Perkins. Ann Perkins. Well, wait, let me stop there. How did you feel about the storyline with Anne? Like, were you surprised when you first heard about it, saw the scripts? Your characters have been linked ever since you first came on and saw her.

Yeah, I thought it was great. That team, you know, led by Mike, obviously, always wrote such great stuff for everybody. always wrote such great stuff for everybody. And it was sort of an exploration of real connection and love and friendship between, you know, partners. And it's like, that supersedes labels. And, you know, that Chris was open to having a baby with her in spite of the fact that they weren't necessarily together because they somehow had done the math and knew that they would, they're good together,

regardless of what the label is, I think was really, really cool. Yeah. You know, I got to tell you, one of my, this reminds me, one of my favorite moments in the room, one of the greatest pitches, I think, was when someone pitched that Chris breaks up with Anne and she doesn't realize it. And it's so funny now to then come to the B-side of that relationship, this kind of a sweet but joke six-episode comedy relationship. And now here we are, and it's two people who actually aren't dating, well, yet, aren't dating, and who say, we're going to do this thing together. dating and who say, we're going to do this thing together. And it's so fun now to analyze it episode by episode and see the progress and how the two of you are coming together to do this really awesome thing. I have one other question I've been dying to ask you before we jump into

our listener-submitted questions, which is that we are seeing a shift in Chris Traeger's storyline in season five beyond doing this great endeavor with Anne. You know, he's trying to become a more rounded, real person with the help of his therapist, Dr. Richard Nygaard. We see an attempted relationship with Shauna Molloy-Tweep. First of all, I think you know that there was a long joke in the room that we would eventually meet Dr. Richard Nygaard and it would be Chris Traker himself.

100%. I was, so, so I'm at this big golf tournament, by the way, I met Jack Nicholas. It was amazing. I played in the Memorial.

It was very, I played with Victor Hovland. It was a big deal. So, and the galleries were huge, huge, huge, huge galleries.

And as always, Parks and Rec fans are overrepresented. They're everywhere. And I'm lining up a putt and I hear, who is Dr. Richard Nygaard? That's amazing. And I said,

it might have been Chris Traeger himself. That would have been amazing. The reason we know it isn't, though, is then we do find out later that somebody else went to Dr. Richard Nygaard. That's right. Oh, that's right. Katie Dippold, our writer Katie Dippold,

played a character who comes in and mentions that her therapist, Dr. Richard Nygaard, suggested she do something. And that was the moment we forever lost the ability because I believe Chris is in that scene. So we lose the ability at this point to ever go forward and say, it was Chris. But again, it cracked us up.

It's hysterical. I had a bunch of casting ideas. In my own mind, for no good reason, I don't know why. And I think it's significant. If you read a character or talk about a character and an actor pops into your mind without you thinking about them, I think it's significant. If you read a script, read a character, talk about a character, and an actor pops into your mind without you thinking about them, I think it's always sort of significant. And for me, and he's since passed away, I believe, but it was Leonard Nimoy.

Oh, that's interesting. That would be great. Yeah. Very cool. And I do believe he has passed away. Right. But he would have been a good Dr. Richard Nygaard. Yes, he would have been.

Right? Yes, absolutely. It kind of ticks all the boxes. Okay, then I have a question I've been wanting to ask, too, since before we get into the questions from the fans. Rob, when you signed on to the show, did you know you were going to be there for years? Or did you think this was a quick thing? Did you have any idea what this was going to be? It was six episodes with the assumption that there would be more.

And at the end of six episodes, the plan was we would all meet and decide whether it was a good fit or not mutually. And I know from my perspective, I think about the fourth episode that I did in the sixth. And it was in that weird time, remember, because Amy was pregnant and the seasons had weird episode orders. Yes, all over the place. You didn't know what episode you were doing or even what year you were.

It was bizarre. And I didn't know whether I was in my sixth episode, but which happened to be the first episode of the next. See, it was insane. But I remember about the third show that I was on was flu episode. See, it was insane. But I remember about the third show that I was on was Flu episode. Third or fourth. It was very early. And I was

doing the talking head in the mirror and ad-libbed, stop pooping. And got a very big response from everybody. And I remember having sort of a, not an epiphany, but knowing, yeah, this is a good fit. This is going to work.

And then did you guys have an official meeting or it was just like everyone knew this works and let's just continue? That's right. That's exactly what it was. It was just like, we're in this. I love that. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Should we do what the fans want us to do and answer their damn questions?

Let's do it. Massive Chris Traeger, Rob Lowe, Parks and Recollection, Town Hall. We got to set it somewhere. We always set a town hall somewhere. Is there a spot in Pawnee that would be so nice to revisit? Oh, for Chris.

I mean, since it's come up, should we do it in the waiting room of Dr. Richard Nygaard? Oh! The unseen waiting room of Dr. Richard Nygaard. Leonard unseen waiting room of Dr. Richard Nygaard. Leonard Nimoy, though we miss him, waiting for Chris in the next room. The light about to go on, but we have enough time to ask a few questions.

That's right. Let's do it. Let's do it. Okay. At Chris Loves Don asks, Rob, where did you hone your comedic chops? You're amazingly funny and witty. Oh, thank you. Funny and witty.

Two different things, by the way, as far as I can tell. I like that. You know what? I'll tell you exactly. We're all influenced by our first influences. You know, what you read, what you watch, what you listen to. influences. What you read, what you watch, what you listen to. I figure like 13, 12, 13, 14 is when you start discovering what you like in the world. And that just so happened for me to coincide with the birth of Saturday Night Live. And so I was watching SNL as it came out with that amazing cast of Chevy and Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd and Garrett Morris and Gilda and on and on and on.

And when it was happening. And I watched every Saturday. I would then recite it to my parents on Sunday morning. And they were probably like, Jesus Christ. That's amazing. But I was very, very, very well steeped in that culture to the point when I finally ended up working with Lorne on multiple, Lorne Michaels on multiple projects, I would ask him questions about things that he'd long since forgotten. So one of the great things I look back on and how the universe works was my love for SNL and then how I have

been a part of that community in so many different ways ever since. And imagine that is how you thought at that age and then you end up hosting it and working with the man who created the damn thing. That's unbelievable. Because I was the same thing when I was a kid. I used to, I dreamt of being in those sketches because it was such an impactful show at that age. Really impactful in a way that because our culture has changed and there's so much choice and there's so much content, nothing will ever, ever be what that was. It's irreplaceable. And when the show finally goes, it will be like, I just can't imagine the culture without it.

I mean, even when the show's bad, and it is. Right. A lot of the time. But it's always hit and miss, it's the nature of that type of show. It is a great point because it's hard to recreate something that's an institution. Like, you can't just say, you're now an institution. This is the thing. This is the comedy.

Weekly take good or bad on the state of affairs. the comedy weekly take good or bad on the state of affairs. It is what it is because it's been there for so long and came at a time when perhaps comedy, we needed a version of comedy like this. That's amazing that that was your, the genesis, so to speak. Yeah. And would you host again, Rob, if you have the opportunity, would you do it again? Yeah. Yeah. I love doing it. In fact, have the opportunity would you do it again or yeah yeah i i love doing it in fact i've done it three times and i i think i'm really proud of those those episodes i mean one of the great compliments that mike myers ever gave me is he said you were actually born to be a regular cast member oh that's a compliment yeah yeah it would have really been fun oh yeah i love it i mean it's it's only as good as the current writing staff and the current cast. And you look at

who I got, I got other than the original cast, I was there at the time you wanted to be there those three times. Oh, yeah. All right. I have another question for you. At Laura Junebug asks, but it really could as easily have been

at Greg Levine writing this one in. Lyman and Knope in a debate. That's Josh Lyman and Leslie Knope in a debate. Who wins? Ooh, that's really a good one. Yeah. That's really a good one. It's a good question,

but actually it's not a close call. Yeah. That's really a good one. It's a good question, but actually it's not a close call. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, assuming everybody has equal commands of the facts and is equally articulate, it comes down to likability. And there's nobody more likable than Leslie Knope. I like that.

So it's Leslie Knope. Actually, it's Leslie Knope in the dial groups. Yeah. It's Leslie Knope in a landslide. I got to tell you, I think you're so kind to Josh Lyman. This is how nerdy I am about the West Wing, which is that, you know, a lot of us lovers of the show can remember when Josh Lyman went up in the press briefing room

and really shat the bed and was really quite awful. That's right. I really think the question is Sam Seaborn versus Leslie Knope. We saw Sam practice at the bait camp, pretending to be... Bartlett. Yeah. Was I? No. Yeah, I did a Bartlett impersonation, I think.

Yes, you did. And get scolded for it. Yes. That would be really interesting to see. Again, Leslie Knope, I think, because she's running. It's her mission. But great question still, man. I remember that West Wing episode because when I got that script

and realized that Sam Seaborn had to imitate Bartlett, and I've imitated Martin since I was 13 years old, because we live five houses away from me. And my question was, all right, how committed to this bit can I actually be before it becomes something more than it should be? Right. When do I cross the line? Yeah.

What is the line? Yes. Yeah. And I never, ever, ever, ever stood on the accelerator like I could have. But I tried to do it just enough. That's so funny. Very smart. That's great.

Very, very smart. Tim, hit us with another one. Okay. I'm going to hit you with another one. Boy, this is kind of a lot to think about, but I'll throw it out there, Rob, and see what you think. From Obi-Wan Baloney, if each member from The Outsiders got a job at Parks and Rec, what would their jobs be? Oh, wow.

Wow, yeah. That's interesting. That's a big, that's a lot. Oh, but it's so good, though. Right? Yeah. Frankly, of all of them, my character, Soda Pop Curtis, would have fit in the best because he's the nicest. Yeah. He was the nicest. He was a sort of

pleasure to have in class. The most optimistic. Soda Pop would definitely be who you would want. Diane Lane, the so, she would have been great working on the floor

where everybody wants. Oh, no, she'd be in the other city. Eagleton. Of course, yeah. Diane Lane would be in Eagleton. Johnny Cade would be working with Joe Sewage in Sanitation.

Right? Perfect. And what would Tom Cruise be doing? Tom Cruise would be animal control. That's funny, yeah. Yeah, I think Tom would be up in animal control. And the rest of them would just be, I think, working at the Waffle House, probably. Oh, at JJ's. JJ's, probably. Oh, at JJ's?

JJ's. Oh, that's nice. Oh, you'd always want to go to the diner. That's great. JJ's would be Jerry's Diner would be renamed. JJ's would become Jerry's Diner. And Swayze would be dishing out omelets and waffles. That's perfect, actually. That works for me.

There is another question that I wish I could pronounce the person who, the username, it's at NFLKCK. Neflect the mus. How did, how did literally become a bit?

So, if you watch Wayne's World, there's a scene in Wayne's World where I'm with Wayne and Garth, and I'm trying to get them to sell their show to Noah Vanderhoff. And I say, I think I say something. Noah Vanderhoff was in my office the other day, and he saw the show, and he literally lost his mind. And I remember doing it like that. I remember I did it on purpose.

Obviously, it was a choice. And so that happened. So that's in 1991, something like that, 92? Yeah. And you fast forward to Chris Traeger. And I, first of all, in person, I am guilty of probably overusing the word literally. And I definitely have a way of saying it that's very enthusiastic.

And some would say mispronounced. I disagree. And Mike clearly, sure, enjoyed it. And it was Mike. It was not me. It was Mike. Or, you know, Greg, you guys were feeding me that word. And it was, I just knew that whenever I saw it in the script,

that Chris would just hammer the shit out of me. And it became, I'd been acting since I was eight years old and I did movies and TV, but I'd never had a catchphrase. Really? I never had a catchphrase. Really? I never had my catchphrase. And then suddenly, I had one. And now I have a podcast named That's amazing.

Literally. Literally. My own podcast. People, when they bring up different characters on the show, whenever Chris Traeger comes up, literally comes up. That's just in the ether. Well, it's a great thing because it's just such a fun thing. Again, like I was at the golf tournament and people were going, Chris Traeger,

Parks and Rec, we love you. And I go, that is literally the best thing I've ever heard. Yeah. Oh my God, they faint. They go crazy. They run for the hills. If you're ever in search of a vanity license plate, I think you know what you need. Oh my God, that's amazing. That's what every actor wants of a vanity license plate, I think you know what you need. Oh my God, that's amazing. That's what every actor wants

is a vanity license plate so people know exactly who's driving the car. But, okay, another great question here. At Captain Cosmo's Lounge, was there an actual burger cooking competition between you and Nick Offerman?

And I'll expand on that, which is if there wasn't, how would it go down, do you think? There are two people you don't want to tangle with in terms of their handyman life experience. We mentioned Patrick Swayze was one. He was like a dancer, a choreographer, nuclear physicist. I mean, it was everything and anything. He'd done it in his life, and you thought it was BS, and then you'd research and be like, God damn it, he did it. The other is Offerman. Offerman is sort of a master, as you know, of everything.

You know, he's a fellow Midwesterner, like me. I think he's from Indiana. I'm from Ohio. So it's like just the cool stuff. And I wouldn't want to have a grilling competition with him. But I might take him on in burgers. But I might take him on on burgers. My grandpa ran a burger joint in Ohio for 60 years called Spot.

Still there in Sydney, Ohio. Pies, shakes, and burgers. I mean, come on. That's all I need. Yes. That's all I need. Jim has built his whole life around those three things. Yes, that is all I need. I battle those demons every day because that's all I need. Jim has built his whole life around those three things. Yes, that is all I need. I battle those

demons every day because that's all I want. Oh, God. That was a good episode. I loved that episode. Yes, yes. I think for a lot of people, it is a much loved episode, not just for the competition, but we get to go to food and stuff and grain and simple

and all these unique, we start to go to these new unique and grain and simple and all these unique, we start to go to these new unique spots in Pawnee. I think we wouldn't normally have gone to. It was a really special story. Yeah. Anytime Chris realizes that things are better with fat, it makes me happy because it is a fact, you know,

and he's at the Gurgich's Christmas party and Ben is like, that's the fattening eggnog. He goes, well, it's better. Well, yes, it is better. Yes. Because everything with fat is better. Yeah. It'll kill you.

Yeah. Let's face it. It's better. It is what it is. Yes. Okay. So the next question we have, Mr. Lowe, is from LawHall88. Question.

Was Chris Traeger aware that he was always setting Ben up to be the bad guy? And if so, ooh, a little accusatory here. Doesn't that make him kind of a monster? Yes. The answer is yes, he's a monster. He's a horrible man. Well, it's interesting because Chris actually has an arc, and it's great that this person noticed it. actually has an arc and it's great that this person noticed it.

Because originally, Mike was inspired by someone, I can't remember who it was, who had the ability to deliver bad news in such a way that you wouldn't ever even know, for example, that you'd just been fired. And that was a big part. In fact, it might have been the first thing Mike ever told me about the character. Because Traeger comes in to Pawnee, he's slashing and burning,

but he's so charming about it and so upbeat about it that you don't realize you've just lost your job. And then he bails, and Ben is left holding the bag. So that was the original math of the character and the relationships and then like everything else you know it moves on from that but that that was baked into the dna from the beginning and do you think that that was chris's chris knew everything

he was doing this was all manipulative no ch Chris doesn't have a manip... Well, that iteration of it in and of itself would have been that. But again, good writers let characters become who they want to become. And Chris

did not want to become that archetype, clearly. I didn't make a choice about it one way or the other. I was just doing what was on the page, which I think is the actor's job, particularly when it's great writing. I don't want to need to make it my own

or any of that. When it's great writing, I want to execute the writing. That's what I want to do. When it's bad writing, then I'm making it my own. Well, yeah. I will say, for what it's worth,

it does feel like, right away when we meet Chris, he's already a positive person. In his talking head, he's a positive person saying he wants to be the first person to live to or he's going to be he is already the first person is going to live to like 120, whatever that is. So I feel like he probably didn't see himself as being a monster or a bad guy. It was part of a process that caught the results that were intended and needed, as opposed to someone like a Jeremy Jam, who takes great pleasure in the dissatisfaction of other people. Oh, so guys, check it out. The golf tournament that I keep referencing a thousand times. It's like, we get it. You're a big golfer. We get it.

Yes, we were in Ohio. We get it, Rob. I'm flying to the tournament with a group that I don't know any of these people. I don't know who's going to be on the plane. I don't know what's happening. And I buckle in and I look over and who is sitting across from me?

This is a deep dive Parks and Rec thing. Michelle Wee. Wow. Oh, of course. Oh my God, of course. And I go, Jeremy Jam would be losing. Yes. Losing his shit.

Yes, yes, yes. And it's all I can do to ask her if she knows about that Jeremy Jam, Michelle Wee runner. Yeah. He's obsessed with her. He's obsessed with her. Yeah. He's obsessed with her. He's obsessed with her. Yeah.

There's that great episode. One of my favorite episodes where Amy and I go to Jeremy Jam's house and he's got posters, multiple posters of Michelle Wee everywhere golfing in really provocative outfits. Yeah. But when you look closer,

they're just any Asian golfer in really provocative, which is like double insulting. Yes. That he doesn't know that it's not Michelle Wee. It's so funny. Anyway,

that made me smile this weekend. That's so great. But you can't, I mean, because Jam is a monster. Like he really is a, he's a devil. One of my favorite characters

on the show. One of my all time, I loved, and I was really lucky because I got to work with Councilman Jam a ton. And I was really happy that those storylines dovetailed a lot with Chris because, my God, his glazes are hilarious. Oh, my God.

We were lucky to have him as a guest recently, and he was just talking about, you know, how he was able to help shape the character and really just the freedom with which that character was allowed and he was allowed to have fun with it. But we also talked about the long arc of Jeremy Jam that even at the end of the day, someone who seems as awful and irredeemable

is going to have a soft moment, is going to have, and obviously we haven't gotten there yet, but Tammy is going to play a big role in that. But that's also the power of Parks and Recreation, that there are very few characters who don't somehow get touched by the sweetness and the altruism of the show.

That's right. And that starts from the top. That's a vintage Mike Schur thing. And I mean, I give all of you guys credit for that, but that kind of worldview, the fact that somebody like Jam gets a redemption wouldn't happen in most shows, but it absolutely has to happen on this show because of the brain trust that's running it. Yeah. You have brilliant writing and then you bring in someone like Glazer

and you, you also say, yes, okay, we're going to give him these amazing words, but also let him do his thing. Yes. Because that's the magic.

That is the magic. And when it works and it did a hundred percent, you have a, you have a councilman Jan that we all love to hate. Right. Right. And the, the other thing I always loved about the show and I've tried to do it when

I've had the opportunity to either co-create a show or come in early enough that maybe I'm one of the first elements and it's sort of a wide open field, is to not cast it in the traditional way. And the show was never cast in that way. It was like, we like this person. We like what they do. We like their vibe. We like their thing. Right. We like what they do. We like their vibe. We like their thing. What would they be in this world? As opposed to, here's this character I've written. attached before we knew exactly what their character was. I say we, but Greg and Mike specifically, like Rashida and Aziz and Amy. Aziz was cast first. Yeah, they had no idea. They just loved them. And that's a great testament also to casting director Alison Jones and Nancy Perkins, who did the first season and the pilot, which was, let me introduce you to funny, good people. These are people that you're going to want to have in your show. And even with you, Rob, it was like, we have this chance to have Rob Lowe on the show. What is the right character for this actor? What's the great synthesis of idea that's creative and the actor and what they bring to it too.

It's amazing. And I don't know why it doesn't happen more often, but it truly does not. It's amazing that it was done this way. Well, let me hop into another question from at Luis Talamantes underscore. I'm sorry, Luis, that Talamantes was already taken by somebody else. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a funny moment that happened on set? Oh, wow. Well, I was there for the single greatest ad lib

that made it into the show, which is Amy is ill in Flu Episode. And Pratt is screwing around the computer. And it says, it says here you have connectivity problems. Yeah. I think that's the funniest line in the show history. Personally,

it has to be. Don't you think? I really think Mike says it too. And Mike was the creator of the damn show. Seven seasons. It, it to me is one of the most perfect TV comedy jokes I've heard because it's a joke that operates on many levels.

It works for Leslie being sick. It works for Andy's stupidity. It works for the fact that he's filling in for something he's not supposed to do. It's just unbelievable. And it's so true because every one of us have experienced that specific comment popped up on our computer screens. Rob, that's such a great choice. I was proudly there that day also. That lives in infamy. Infamy. Infamy. I agree. Infamy. We have other questions. This is from Isaac in Minneapolis. And actually,

I don't know it's so much of a question. It's really just something fun. He goes, I love the show and I want to show you guys something. He actually sent us a little picture. There's a doggy daycare in my neighborhood in Minneapolis called Barks and Wreck. Oh, my God. That is amazing. He goes, I really have nothing else to add. I just thought it'd be something you and the other listeners would enjoy.

I do enjoy that. And it's a little picture of a dog with his paws up and it just says Barks and Wreck. That is the cutest. I love dogs so much. I have four of them. Well, me too. So yes, I have two of them sleeping right near me as we do this. Barks and Wreck. So, but the prompt that it leads to is, can we think of any other theme businesses that you can play off of Barks and Wreck? And one of the examples, somebody gave Parks and Rec the wrecking company. Oh, W-R-E-C-K. Okay, Parks and Rec.

Which was, by the way, was one of Greg and Mike's big fears. Like if we named the show Parks and Rec and it like, let's say it just doesn't do well and like the ratings aren't good and it just doesn't go, will the headlines be Parks and Rec? Like it was a wreck,

but obviously it didn't turn out that way. Well, I showed up on the set the other day having traveled no sleep and it was scorching. Did you go to Ohio somewhere, Rob? Yeah, you know, guys, so I played in this golf tournament. You did a golf tournament?

That's what it was. Yeah, with Jack Nichols. I didn't mention that you should take up golf. That's really good. I didn't hear about that. Anyway, I got off the plane. I got on the set. It was baking.

And they said, how are you? I said, I'm parched and wrecked. Oh. Oh. Oh. Okay. That could be a lemonade stand. Or a person lost in the desert.

No, it's a lemonade stand slash hangover IV business. I'm calling that idea right now. I'm putting it down. I'm copywriting it. It's interesting how that works, Jim. Perched and wrecked. Pretty sure Rob said it, but okay. No, no, no.

I did it. I'm writing it down, so that's mine. We have another question that we should get to, which is from Regina in Clifton Park, New York, who writes to us and say, I loved Parks and Rec. Huge fan since day one. Talked to so many of my friends into watching the show as well.

And of course, they too fell in love with it. Thank you, Gina. You are doing a great job on the podcast. So happy it's back on again. Thanks. Here's the question. The characters,

Ben and Jerry, did anyone ever realize Ben and Jerry could have been made into an ice cream flavor? Just thought since you two had characters with those names, it would have been fun to make a flavor with Ben and Jerry's. It's not too late. I bet the makers would do one now. Why not reach out to them and make it happen?

Regina, you should do it. I would buy it now. So what would a Ben and Jerry flavor have in it is the question. Keep up the great work, Regina. I mean, Jerry would have vanilla. It would be totally vanilla. Yeah. Forgettable.

Forgettable. Wait, that's hurtful now. Mmm, forgettable. Yeah, forgettable. Wait, that's hurtful now that I think about that. Do you know what's interesting? Vanilla is a classic flavor. As a kid, I remember thinking, God, vanilla ice cream was one of the great treats in life. And yet, I can't remember the last time I've ever seen a person have vanilla ice cream.

You haven't been around my refrigerator at one in the morning then. Really? Oh, bro. Oh, God. And vanilla is your go-to? It's not my go-to, but I always have it in there.

And depending on what I have or what I've already worked my way through, ice cream is my Achilles heel. It's really bad. And I love a good vanilla. Love it. Interesting. But what would Ben be?

What is he? You think Calzone, but there's no Calzone ice cream. Oh, how great a Calzone ice cream. It would be interesting if the cherry vanilla had like a mascarpone cheese kind of thing. And then you could do a calzone with Ben. That's what it is. Because listen, at some point, some idiot looked at pizza and went, you know what this needs?

Pineapple. Oh, yeah. So why can't we be doing that with vanilla ice cream? Honestly, it's no more crazy than putting pineapple on your pizza to put a calzone in vanilla ice cream. I find them equally insane. Yeah. I want it to be known right now, Jim O'Hare has never had a bite of pineapple on a pizza. And Jim O'Hare will not have a bite of pineapple on a pizza.

You're a real American. But isn't it funny? Because I got to tell you, my guess is that Jerry Gergich's favorite pizza topping was probably pineapple. No, I think it was just cheese. I know, but it's so bad. So bad. And see, listeners, listeners, listeners, this is what goes on on a set. Exactly the minutia.

You're right. This is the Parks and Rec version of what on the West Wing would be a three-hour shutdown. And everybody goes to their trailer. Where it's like, I would not say this. My character would not do this. Oh, my God. That's awesome. Let me ask you, Rob.

What would the Chris Traeger flavor of ice cream look like? Well, by the way, you know I have one already. I'm probably the only character on the show that has one legendarily in the canon of film comedy. I don't know this.

Mm-hmm. Tell us. I'm going to give you a clue. See if I can get it. It's from Wayne's World. Oh, my God. Dana Carvey literally says it. He says,

if he were an ice cream, he'd be. Oh, man. I wish I knew I loved Wayne's World. I do not know. Literally, he literally says if he were an ice cream,'d be oh man i wish i knew i love wienersworn i do not know literally he literally says if he were an ice cream yeah his flavor would be pralines and dick oh of course yeah yeah

all right wow that's quite the brand it's a good brand uh i don't want to I don't want to mess with that. It's a very famous comedy moment. I got to, but Traeger would be, what would he be? You know what I think? Unfortunately, it'd be one of those gross, inedible ice creams. It's supposed to be healthy for you. I think so. I'm afraid it would be. And I think that like when you went to order it, it would take like two minutes to say,

well, this is where the cow was, you know, where the milk was fed and this is the cow's name. And here's a picture that comes with it. Do you know which cow provided it? Oh, I'd be like that great bit from, the greatest bit ever from Portlandia. The greatest episode of comedy ever

where Fred Armisen wants to order a free range chicken, but then wants to know about the chicken and goes to the range and gets to know the chicken. Right, right, right. It's the best ever. Oh, God, I love Portland. Yeah. It's so great.

I think I got to revisit that now that you mentioned it. But again, you know, for people studying acting, and listen, if you're going to study acting, you better be studying Parks and Rec because the level of acting on this show, let me just tell you. But like, I love ice cream. I would never eat, quote-unquote, healthy, healthy, healthy, healthy ice cream, of course, unless I was endorsing it for a lot of money,

and then I would eat the hell out of it. Absolutely. Right. But, like, my character, but I gotta play the character. Yeah. So, if you're asking me, you know what, I gotta go with what's authentic to the character, because that's what you serve. You serve the character. Character would eat really shitty

healthy ice cream. I happen to not, but that's the way acting goes. Well, we have one last question for you, if I may throw in my own, which is that if you had to pick your Parks and Rec moment, and I'm not saying

it has to, like, we already talked about one of the funniest moments for you on set. That's fine. But I'm not saying it has to, like we already talked about one of the funniest moments for you on set. That's fine. But I'm talking about, you know, if you're like, you're telling the story of Rob Lowe and the storied career, and which obviously you have done and you continue to do,

your book is amazing and everything. What's your Parks and Rec moment? I have a lot of them. I mean, it's, they're the character moments and then they're the moments of me experiencing the show right and i i just what popped into my head was we always shot in the summer in the valley and it was always a hundred degrees if not and i can remember i broke my ankle um and i so I was on a broken ankle and came back to work. And it was a day I had to be on a track with Pratt coaching him.

Oh, yeah. And there's a really, really cool photo of him when he was at his absolute biggest. He's carrying me. I look like a little child. I look like I could suckle on his teat. I'm so small. And that is, I remember that. I remember, I mean, I, I remember, do you remember filming that, that amazing, uh, promo where that Mike wrote, where the concept was that I, I didn't realize that. Oh my God.

We had, we had, we weren't on the air. Yeah. We weren't on the air. And it was, and that was the one time Mike wrote a mean person. I throw, I throw coffee and sweet. Yeah. You're a bastard. Yeah.

So if you say I am Robert Bosephius low, I'm Robert Bosephius low. Yeah. Yeah. You're reading all of us. You're like, Amy's nothing. And she's like, well, I've been on.

And you don't even know that Aubrey's been on the show. I think she says. You think she's getting your coffee. I think Amy says, well, I was on SNL. And I'm like, well, I said, I hosted three times. And I'm friends with Lorne Michaels. And I play paddle tennis with him and fucking Diane Sawyer. Or something.

It's so inside. It's so inside and so demented. It really is one of my, oh, and of course, how can we forget? Oh my God, Jim,

bro. How have we not talked about? So there was a guy that ran NBC. God bless him. He's, he was amazing. Bob Greenblatt. Love,

love Bob Greenblatt. We love, he's a great guy. Bob Greenblatt. When I say he loves musical theater, that doesn't even come close to say... I mean, he's like, let me entertain you.

Like, jazz hands, the whole thing. So, he runs the network, and he's like, I know. I am making a show about Broadway. So, he makes this show called, what the hell is it called? Smash?

Smash, yeah. Debra Messing and a bunch of others. Smash. I think they spend $100 million an episode on this thing. And they gave it the prime slot. And do you remember this, Tim? I mean, how can anybody forget it? And this thing,

and they're going to put it, it's going to get the post-Super Bowl slot because that's, so many dudes watching football can't wait for a musical theater show. So it's great. It's all going to go really well. And they make everybody on NBC do a song and dance video, stop shooting, learn choreography, and do this song about the show Smash. And we spent hours doing this thing. And it's actually kind of cool.

Actually, it's super lame, but also super kind of cool. It's like the perfect thing of like cringey beyond belief. Yes. But also kind of amazing. And they had all the different shows office do we did it everybody did it's like a time capsule of this one specific moment in nbc where every star it was also a heyday of nbc too there were 30 rock was on the air the office i mean um community community all these great shows and all the great talent was on it, but also the SNL cast and Brian Williams and Donald Trump.

And so many people show up in this little thing. If I remember correctly, it was a song from the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, right? The Brotherhood of Man. Yes. Right? And in our little bit, we have these great jokes. I remember Rob as Chris. He's so chipper and happy and Nick Offerman, you know, Ron Swanson throws like his thumbs down. And it's like, it was, it was a very strange thing that I don't want to admit having seen way more often than I probably should have. I watch it sometimes.

more often than I probably should have. I watch it sometimes. There's something about it. There is. And it's one of those you would go, is that the worst thing I've ever seen? Or is it fantastic? But the real thing is,

I just want to be there when they're pitching to Steve Carell. This is what you're going to do. You guys are going to shut down and you're going to, Krasinski is going to come in on his knees and he's going to do jazz hands and then you're going to pitch it over to Tina Fey. And she's going to, it's like, it's insane.

But the other thing is, It was insane. You really, the other thing is you really realize, and I don't mean to be a downer, but how network television has disappeared. And more than that, frankly, how comedy has disappeared. Yeah, yeah.

Look at just on NBC. Just on NBC. Yeah. Not also on this streaming service and that. Just on NBC. Look at what there was. It's insane. There's something also, and we talked about this a lot when we were making Parks and Rec,

and we've talked about it on our podcast, that it seems now when you can, and Rashida was just actually speaking about this in her episode, when you watch the show now on Peacock or when it was on Netflix before, whatever, it feels like, oh, they made 125 episodes, they did seven seasons, whatever it was. Of course, every season we thought

we were going to be canceled. Every season finale was written with the potential to be a series finale. But we went seven seasons. But how rare that seven season, even five, four seasons it is to get a show now. And why that's so important in comedy is because most comedies, even situation comedies, even a cheers or whatever that's set at a place, the same place over and over again. It's about the characters. It's character comedy.

And the more you get to know your characters, the more you like them doing so many things and will find so many things funny. A very long-winded way to say that shorter comedy seasons, which is what we're having right now, is also the death of comedy. Because if you don't give people a chance

to truly invest in the characters, they're not going to want to stick around to see them do funny things. Which is why when, you know, and listen, full disclosure, I say this to Ted Sarandos all the time, who's, by the way, Ted Sarandos at Netflix,

most educated, learned fan of comedy I've ever met. He knows, if you tell him, from any movie really, but particularly comedies, if you give him a line, an obscure line, he can tell you

what came before or what came after. The man loves, Netflix is a joke, comedy festival. It's the most prestigious, best comedy festival in the world now.

That's all from Ted. And so he's a huge, but I keep saying, Ted, this eight episode order thing you guys have, do you know why you haven't had a comedy that doesn't work?

That's why. That's why. Yeah. You need to order more episodes for this very reason. There's a reason comedies don't break out on streamers. There is. It's that. And I cannot get people to understand it.

I'm thrilled that we have a season two on Unstable because now we'll have a whopping grand total of 16 episodes. Right, right, right. Yeah, that's wild. But you know, you take what you can get. Do you remember Must See TV with NBC? I mean, those were the days of comedy. I loved all of that.

And I thought it was so cool when I ended up on a show that became part of Must See TV. But those days are over. Well, here's what else that doesn't help is when comedies that are not comedies are put in comedy slots for awards. And I remember it started with Nurse Jackie. And do you know how many days did we, when the Golden Globes would roll around or the Emmys would roll around, and Amy Poehler, I'm like, okay, so is there anyone funnier week in and week out

who's a woman on television than Amy Poehler? I don't know. There might be. Maybe. I don't know. But I don't know. Never won. Never won the Emmy.

And usually lost it to Edie Falco. The hilarious Edie Falco. The hilarious Edie Falco on Nurse Jackie. Yeah, the hilarious Edie Falco. And believe me, I love Nurse Jackie. I love that show. It is not a comedy. And even now, I'm going to say this for what's out there now.

The Bear. Not a comedy. Don't be calling The Bear a comedy. No. It's a great show. I love it. I see every episode. But please don't call it a comedy. And you're taking opportunities away from other people who are doing comedy.

Oh, I can't even get started on that topic because I know it's crazy. As I talk about the new Unstable season, I talk about it like it's a revolutionary, subversive thing. To make something that's just funny. Just funny. Not trying to be in your face. Doesn't have an agenda. Not trying to be edgy. Not trying to be cool. To's just funny. Just funny. Not trying to be in your face, doesn't have an agenda, not trying to be edgy, not trying to be cool.

To just be funny is as revolutionary today as making Easy Rider was in the 60s. There's a car commercial I reference so much when stuff like this comes up, which is, if the car were invented today, it would be electric, right?

And it's just such a great way to sell the electric car and the concept of it. And I believe that if awards were invented today for TV, we would not say this is a comedy series, this is a drama series. We'd think about it differently. We'd think about short orders differently. We'd call things dramedies or half hour versus hour or whatever that is. And we would think about that differently. And I love all of these shows that get nominated. They're great series.

I love Succession to me is hilarious. Succession makes me laugh. Yeah. I mean, I could see that to me that might be a kind. Enough with like we were talking about circling back to Ann Perkins and Chris. It's like the labels of the relationships were irrelevant and the labels of any art should be irrelevant. You know, dividing them by gender is insane. All of it is insane.

It should just be what's good. Wow. What's good. That is a wonderful concept. Well, on this incredibly, perfectly positive note, we should also say thank you, Bruv, for coming to chat with us. I mean, we're sitting in the chairs you built here, which is not a statement that makes sense if you think about it.

But as we finished up this season of Parks and Recreation, it was so fun to recollect with you and not just the season five, but just your time on the show, comedy in general, whatever our fans have been asking. This has been a blast. Well, I hope you invite me back. I'm happy to come anytime, particularly as we start. I don't want to give anything away. Spo alerts, but as Chris's journey continues and where he heads off to, there's some really, really, really good context and backstory to that that I look forward to sharing for sure. We would love to have that conversation. And I love my fellow Pawneans. I miss all you guys,

but I listen. I just, I listen and I'm always there in spirit. Always. And I just want to give Rob another shout out because we kind of cut him off earlier because, you know, we jumped all over the place,

but he was talking about what he's got coming up. And he has been doing a show called The Floor that we were talking before we started recording. I'm a little obsessed with, and he gave me all the behind-the-scenes scoop on how it's made, and I love it. But anyway, so you were telling us you got a couple more seasons of that coming up.

I'm super excited because in September, I'm going to have two shows on the schedule at the same time. Damn! Which I don't know if that's ever, I don't know. I'll have 911 Lone Star drama and the floor game show. And I love doing the floor. It's just so addicting. So addicting.

It's so addicting. That's exactly what it is. Do you know what? Screw must-see TV. It's YOLO ROLO time. Okay? I love it. YOLO ROLO.

Oh, man. I'm so stealing that. Great. It's yours. Thank you. Rob, we love you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Love you guys. Thanks. We will see you soon. Thank you. Love you guys. Thank you all for listening to us. Check this episode to your group chat.

Give us those five-star reviews wherever you're listening. Goodbye from Pawnee. Bye. Parks and Recollection is produced by me, Lisa Berm, and engineered by Joanna Samuel. The podcast is executive produced by Jeff Ross, Adam Sachs, Colin Anderson, and

Nick Liao. Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Brit Kahn are our talent bookers, along with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Our theme song is by Mouse Rat, a.k.a. Mark Rivers, with additional tracks composed by John Danek. Thanks for listening,

and we'll see you next time on Parks and Recollection. This has been a Team Coco production.